Category: Presentations and Talks

Join the Department of Physics for its next physics seminar at 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 24 in 128 Jabara Hall and also on Zoom.

The speaker this week will be Dr. Rajasekaran Namakkal Soorappan from the Department of Pathology, Division of Molecular & Cellular Pathology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His lecture will be on “Redox Signaling – Concept of Reductive Stress and Associated Mechanisms for Proteotoxic Diseases.”

The physics seminar series brings several speakers to WSU each semester and is sponsored by the Eddy and April Lucas Fund.

On May 2, the Barton School of Business Center for International Business Advancement (CIBA), the International Business Studies Association (IBSA) and the World Trade Council of Wichita (WTCouncil) present Spirit AeroSystems on Global Supply Chains. The distinguished speaker will be Dr. Wendy Crossman, vice president, Spirit AeroSystems, in charge of global sourcing.

Students register at a below-cost rate to attend the dinner program (subsidized by the WTCouncil). The dinner program will be held at the Wichita Country Club, and attire is business casual. No reservations will be accepted after 4 p.m. April 29.

Spirit is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of aerostructures for commercial planes, defense platforms and business/regional jets. Headquartered in Wichita, Spirit has facilities in the U.S., UK, France, Malaysia and Morocco. Spirit is an important company not just for local and regional economies, but also nationally and internationally.

For more information, send an email to wtcouncil@wichita.edu, call 316-978-3176 or follow CIBA/WTCouncil on LinkedIn.

Facility of language and the role of history during multigenerational missions to the stars will be discussed at Interstellar Seminar from 2:30 to 3:20 p.m. Wednesday April 24 in 104 Jabara Hall and online.

Communication is key for long-duration crewed missions. During multigenerational missions of 500 years or more, the languages brought will change as a new culture develops, very much different than Earth. Dr. Mythili Menon, director of linguistics at WSU, will join Interstellar Seminar to discuss the future of language, as humans travel to distant star systems.

Speeding away from home, the Earth will become a dot in space that eventually can no longer be seen. The history of the Earth will be preserved during an interstellar mission in some fashion, while a new history is being written. Dr. George Dehner, professor of history at WSU, will discuss the place history has for multigenerational missions that will never return to Earth.

Zoom details and an archive of previous seminars can be found on the Wichita Space Initiative website.

The School of Art, Design and Creative Industries will host “Activating Public Spaces: Panel Discussion with Artists of the Wichita Water Works” from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Monday, April 22 in 210 McKnight Art Center.

Panelists include Jill Anholt, Sijia Chen and Joseph O’Connell, the artists chosen by the City of Wichita to add beauty and aesthetic improvements via public sculpture art to the grounds of the Wichita Northwest Water Facility.

Join the Industrial, Systems and Manufacturing Engineering Department for a seminar by Mohammadreza Daroonparvar Ph.D., from the National Center for Additive Manufacturing Excellence (NCAME), Mechanical Engineering Department, Auburn University, from 9:30 to 10:50 a.m. Thursday, April 18 in 142 Rhatigan Student Center, Harvest Room.

The presentation will be on, “From Surface Coatings to Additive Manufacturing of Metallic Materials: Processing-Microstructure-Property Relationships, Effect of Post-Process Treatments, Challenges and Perspective for Future Research.” Light refreshments and snacks will be served.

Seminar abstract:

Understanding processing-microstructure-property relationships and post-process treatments is vital in the realms of coatings and additively manufactured (AM) parts as it directly influences material performance, durability and functionality. In metallic coatings/deposits, this knowledge facilitates the selection of deposition techniques and parameters to achieve desired microstructures, which in turn govern properties such as corrosion resistance, wear resistance and high temperature oxidation resistance. Similarly, in AM parts, controlling post-process treatments is essential for refining microstructure, texture, relieving residual stresses and enhancing overall part integrity. Despite its significance, there are notable gaps in this field, particularly in elucidating the intricate relationships between processing parameters, microstructural evolution and resultant material properties. Additionally, there is a need for further research to develop effective post-process treatments tailored to specific material systems and applications, ultimately advancing the performance and reliability of metallic coatings and AM parts. In this talk, I will present a concise overview of both my past and ongoing research endeavors dedicated to bridging some of these critical gaps within this field of study.

Bio sketch:

Dr. Daroonparvar currently serves as postdoctoral associate in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the Auburn University. After receiving his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from UTM in 2013, he has held various roles in both academia and industry. His extensive scholarly contributions include over 90 journal articles, three book chapters and four conference papers, which have garnered citations exceeding 2800 and an h-index of 33 (as evidenced by his Google Scholar profile). In addition, he has held a role on the editorial board of MDPI’s Journals of Coatings and Materials since 2020. His research interests span various areas, including surface repair/refurbishment and coatings development particularly for lightweight metals using cold spray technology; improvement of high-temperature oxidation behavior in Ni-based superalloys using thermal barrier coatings; investigation of corrosion initiation and propagation mechanisms; exploration of surface electrochemistry using electrochemical techniques; and analysis of processing-microstructure-property relationships in coatings and AM metallic materials.

Join the Industrial, Systems and Manufacturing Engineering Department for a seminar by Harsha Abeykoon, Plymouth State University, from 9:30 to 10:50 a.m. Tuesday, April 16 in 262 Rhatigan Student Center, Herrman Room, on “Touching Remotely? a reality for Virtual Reality (VR).” Light refreshments and snacks will be served.

Seminar abstract:

The sense of touch stands out as unique among human sensory capabilities. For effective transmission, actions initiated by an individual and corresponding environmental reaction must be conveyed in a two-way (bilateral) manner. Bilateral tele-operation is realized using an acceleration-based controller. Evolution of the tele-operative technologies will be presented. If tactile sensations are transmitted, archived and replayed, virtual objects can be created for VR environments.

Instead of traditional force sensors, an innovative observer method is employed to grasp the subtle dynamics of interaction. The seminar will delve into the intricacies of reaction torque observer and its variant, the disturbance observer. The range of applications is broad, extending from remote surgical procedures and patient rehabilitation to advanced tele operative systems.

Moreover, the presentation will highlight the technical advancements while offering a deeper understanding of how collaborative projects within academic institutions contribute to the field of haptic technology. It will also demonstrate a few other student projects ranging from sound source localization, field-based navigation, vision and to gait pattern generation using reinforcement learning.

Speaker bio:

Harsha Abeykoon obtained his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, and went on to complete his master’s degree in mobile robotics and his doctorate in motion control of robots at Keio University, Japan. He has served as an assistant professor in the Department of Industrial Systems Engineering at the Asian Institute of Technology (Thailand) and was a senior lecturer in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. He is currently affiliated with Plymouth State University and holds positions as the vice chair of the IEEE New Hampshire section and the secretary of its Robotics and Automation Society.

As part of the Latin American and Latinx Studies Series, the Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures will host feminist scholar and activist Silvia Trujillo Cordobés at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 24 in 203 Rhatigan Student Center, Lancelot Room.

Cordobés is a sociologist, currently a professor of gender and communication, and cultures and diversity in the Department of Communication at the University Rafael Landívar in Guatemala City. Her lecture will be on “Central American Feminisms: Gender Violence and Migration to the United States.” It will be an opportunity to talk about women and gender issues, migration and contemporary Latin American topics. All are invited, although the lecture is in Spanish, and interpretation will be available.

Dr. James C. Ho, professor emeritus, will give the next physics seminar talk at 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 17 in 128 Jabara Hall and also on Zoom.

The talk is titled “A Challenge: Calorimetric Measurements of Room-Temperature Superconductors under Pressure.” Dr. Ho has made a major effort in developing titanium-based aneurysm clips now widely used in neurosurgery.

The lecture is part of the Physics Seminar Series, which brings speakers to campus several times each semester. The series is sponsored by the Eddy and April Lucas Fund.

Join Interstellar Seminar from 2:30 to 3:20 p.m. Wednesday, April 17 in 104 Jabara Hall or online to experience Dr. Nick Kanas’ talk on the psychology of interstellar travel.

The stresses of living in the wilderness of space are distinct from what we typically experience on the ground. Multigenerational missions to the stars will create unique challenges for mental health, interpersonal relationships and governance.

Dr. Kanas focuses on space psychology as an emeritus professor of psychiatry at University of California at San Francisco. He is an award-winning author and researcher and fellow of both the American Group Psychotherapy Association and the Royal Astronomical Society. Author of the leading textbook on space psychology and psychiatry, Dr. Kanas is also a celebrated science fiction novelist.

Zoom details and archived lectures can be found on the Wichita Space Initiative webpage.

The Department of Biological Sciences’ Seminar Series continues from 4 to 5 p.m. Monday, April 15 in 218 Hubbard Hall with Dr. Matt Gibson of the Stowers Institute with his talk “Understanding your Inner Anemone: Hox Genes, Segmentation, and Somitogenesis During Cnidarian Development.”

As always, seminars are open to the public and undergraduates are encouraged to attend.